Carbon Cap Research Articles

Integrating Bass model in a closed loop supply chain system with low and high product return scenario under carbon cap and trade policy

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Pricing in competitive energy supply chains considering government interventions to support CCS under cap-and-trade regulations: A game-theoretic approach

This paper investigates the impacts of governmental support strategies on rival bioenergy and conventional energy supply chains in the presence of cap-and-trade regulations using a game-theoretic approach. The role of government in reducing carbon emissions and increasing carbon capture and storage (CCS) is explored and compared in three scenarios: NO-Support (N), Subsidy on investment (C), and FIT subsidy (I). In the bioenergy supply chain, the bioenergy manufacturer determines the wholesale electricity price and the level of CCS efforts, and the 3 PL company specifies the level of carbon emission reduction efforts. The decision variable of the conventional energy supply chain is the wholesale electricity price. In addition to the carbon cap, the government must decide the rate of its contribution to CCS and 3 PL costs in scenario C and the Feed-In Tariff subsidy rate in the scenario I. The results show that in the presence of cap-and-trade regulations, all examined governmental support strategies, especially those in scenario C, can significantly improve the profits of bioenergy supply chain members while sustainable development goals. In addition, Scenario C is more effective in incentivizing the supply chain members to increase CCS and reduce carbon emission levels among the three scenarios.

Impact of policies on residential multi-energy systems for consumers and prosumers

Multi-energy systems can improve the performance of traditional energy systems, where energy carriers and sectors are decoupled, in terms of economic, environmental, and social sustainability, measured as the total cost of energy, emissions per energy demand, and self-sufficiency, respectively. This study assesses the impact that policy mechanisms can have in enabling these sustainability benefits. A mixed-integer linear problem is implemented, which optimizes the design and operation of multi-energy systems to minimize the total annual cost of supplying energy to residential end-users. Four policy types are tested for a Swiss case study, namely a feed-in tariff, an investment support mechanism, a carbon tax, and a regulation-based carbon cap. To assess how the policy impact varies between different end-users, we distinguish between passive consumers, that cannot access subsidies, and prosumers, who can. In our case study, subsidies, such as a feed-in tariff and an investment support mechanism, decrease the cost of energy for prosumers by up to 10%, but increase the cost for consumers by up to 33%, which points to the need of including energy equity considerations when designing policies. The carbon cap and the carbon tax impact all end-users equally, and tend to perform better in terms of reducing emissions. Emission reductions of up to 60% and 39% are observed for the carbon cap and carbon tax, respectively. The feed-in tariff and carbon cap perform best in fostering self-sufficiency and achieve balanced energy autonomy for high policy levels, revealing a trade-off between the different sustainability dimensions.

A Record of the Snowball Earth Events? The Parecis Basin May Encompass Three Major Neoproterozoic Glaciations on the Amazonian Craton

The Parecis Basin is an intracratonic basin located at the south-southeast portion of the Amazonian craton. Its stratigraphic units comprise siliciclastic and carbonate rocks that potentially record intense paleoenvironmental changes related to the Sturtian (∼717–660 Ma), Marinoan (∼657–635 Ma), and Gaskiers (∼580 Ma) glaciations. We present novel X-ray fluorescence geochemistry, C, O and Sr isotopic data from carbonate rock samples retrieved from the stratigraphic well 2ANP 0006 MT. The results show two negative excursions of δ13C here correlated to post-Sturtian and Marinoan glaciations, recorded in the Salto Magessi and Mirassol d’Oeste carbonate units, respectively. Both negative excursions were followed by δ13C positive incursions. At the base of the section, Salto Magessi carbonate presents unradiogenic Sr ratios (87Sr/86Sr from 0.70655 to 0.70776) typical of Cryogenian interglacial carbonate rocks found elsewhere. The negative δ13C excursion from Mirassol d’Oeste is associated with radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr ratios (up to ∼0.7186), possibly related to continental influx from the intense erosion generated by the Marinoan deglaciation. Upward, the Nobres Formation displays preserved primary sulfate minerals (gypsum and anhydrite) and isotopically heavy oxygen compositions which point to an evaporative environment and support the scenario of enhanced oxidative weathering during early to middle Ediacaran. Finally, despite the absence of cap carbonate, diamictites related to the Serra Azul Formation occur overlying the Nobres Formation and are associated with the Gaskiers event. Therefore, the 2ANP 0006 MT may record three major glacial events from the Neoproterozoic, representing a promising section for further studies concerning chemostratigraphic and paleoenvironmental reconstructions during the Neoproterozoic Era.

Ramification of information asymmetry on a green supply chain management with the cap-trade, service, and vendor-managed inventory strategies

The competition in the supply chain business has become considerably challenging. The environment protection is another problem adjacent to the competitive business. The supply chain players follow carbon policies to reduce carbon emissions along with profit maximization. But, asymmetric information sharing among supply chain players affects supply chain profit. This information asymmetry may be profitable for a few supply chain players but not beneficial for an entire supply chain and it may cause a non-coordination within them. A green supply chain management is developed with carbon tax & cap and trade regulations, where information asymmetry is reduced by the technology support through a radio frequency identification. This study finds the best service and distance between radio frequency identification readers to reduce asymmetry, and the optimum order quantity to obtain the maximum total profit for coordination or non-coordination policy. The objective function becomes a non-linear function with inequality constraint and the optimum solutions are derived using Kuhn–Tucker conditions. The optimum values of the objective function are found by using two subproblems because of the alternative scenarios of the cap and trade policy. Results indicate that a non-coordination policy is a better strategy than a coordination policy when information and product security play a major role in a green supply chain management. The effects of changes in cost parameters are identified via sensitivity analysis. The profit of the non-coordination policy is 6.07% more than the coordination profit.

Logistics service sharing of sellers on an e-commerce platform considering the behaviour of carbon emission pooling

Motivated by logistics service sharing evidences and taking the possible carbon emission pooling behaviour into consideration, we have studied the logistics service sharing and carbon emission pooling problem in an e-commerce supply chain composed of two sellers and a platform company. We first analyse the role of logistics service sharing and find that sellers are likely to share logistics services and such behaviour brings the platform company extra profits. In terms of whether logistics service sharing induces carbon emission pooling, we find that sellers may establish a carbon emission pooling mechanism and the platform company is always willing to provide a marketplace for sellers’ emission trading. Moreover, we discuss two extensions, and results show that the existence of sellers’ horizontal competition and carbon caps does not affect sellers’ and the platform company’s attitudes toward logistics service sharing and it is still necessary to establish the carbon emission pooling mechanism.

Application of the δ44/40Ca-δ88/86Sr multi-proxy to Namibian Marinoan cap carbonates

Several studies have exploited the stable calcium (Ca) and strontium (Sr) isotope compositions of marine carbonate rocks to investigate ancient carbon cycle dynamics, seawater geochemistry, and controls on carbonate production and preservation. However, the two proxies have rarely been applied together. Based on knowledge achieved to date, the δ44/40Ca-δ88/86Sr multi-proxy can distinguish signatures imparted by mass-dependent fractionation and reservoir mixing, including early diagenesis and shifts in the isotopic composition of seawater. In detail, the δ44/40Ca-δ88/86Sr multi-proxy represents a five-isotope system because the determination of δ88/86Sr values requires analysis of fractionation-corrected 87Sr/86Sr ratios, which provide additional constraints on mixing. Here, we apply the novel δ44/40Ca-δ88/86Sr multi-proxy to two Marinoan (ca. 635 Ma) “cap carbonate” sequences from Namibia. Cap carbonates were widely deposited after the Neoproterozoic Marinoan Snowball Earth Event, but controversy surrounds their origin. We find that the rocks archive primary environmental signals deriving from a combination of seawater-glacial meltwater mixing and kinetic isotope effects. In an outer platform section, dolostone δ44/40Ca and δ88/86Sr values define a line predicted for kinetic mass-dependent isotope fractionation. This dolostone mostly precipitated from meltwater. Moreover, stratigraphically higher samples exhibiting the fastest precipitation rates display elevated 87Sr/86Sr ratios, consistent with long-held expectations that a rapid deglacial weathering pulse forced cap carbonate formation. An inner-platform dolostone shows greater effects from water-mass mixing but still reveals that precipitation rates increased up-section. Overlying limestones show greater Ca and Sr contributions from seawater. Amplification of local coastal processes during global ice sheet collapse offers a simple but sufficient proposition to explain the Ca isotope heterogeneity of cap carbonates. Detection of kinetic isotope effects provides evidence for predominantly rock-buffered diagenesis and further offers a basis for developing the δ44/40Ca-δ88/86Sr multi-proxy as an indicator of saturation state and pCO2.

A novel multi-objective robust fuzzy stochastic programming model for sustainable agri-food supply chain: case study from an emerging economy

On the one hand, supply chain management of agri-food products under uncertain conditions has a significant impact on food security and, on the other hand, increases the profits of supply chain components. Moreover, considering the sustainability concepts leads to more social and environmental benefits. The present study investigates the canned food supply chain under uncertain conditions and sustainability concepts by considering strategic and operational decisions and different characteristics. The proposed model is a multi-echelon, multi-period, multi-product, multi-objective location-inventory-routing problem (LIRP) in which the vehicle fleet is considered heterogeneously. The objectives of this model are to (1) minimize costs, (2) minimize customer dissatisfaction, (3) maximize production throughput, and (4) maximize job opportunities. In this study, carbon cap and trade mechanism are used to minimize environmental damage. Robust fuzzy stochastic programming (RFSP) is employed to cope and control uncertainties. The multi-objective optimization problem is implemented on a real case and solved using the Torabi and Hassini (TH) method. The results of this study showed that with increasing confidence levels, the severity of the problem increased and the values of the objective functions worsened. Also, using the relative value of stochastic solution (RVSS) criterion demonstrated that the effect of utilizing the RFSP approach on the first and second objective functions was higher than that the nominal approach showed itself. Finally, sensitivity analysis is performed on two parameters: the selling price of products to foreign customers and the cost of purchasing products from farms. The results of this study showed that changing these two parameters had a significant effect on the first and second objective functions.

A Great late Ediacaran ice age.

The emergence of the Ediacara biota soon after the Gaskiers glaciation ca. 580 million years ago (Ma) implies a possible glacial fuse for the evolution of animals. However, the timing of Ediacaran glaciation remains controversial because of poor age constraints on the ∼30 Ediacaran glacial deposits known worldwide. In addition, paleomagnetic constraints and a lack of convincing Snowball-like cap carbonates indicate that Ediacaran glaciations likely did not occur at low latitudes. Thus, reconciling the global occurrences without global glaciation remains a paradox. Here, we report that the large amplitude, globally synchronous ca. 571-562 Ma Shuram carbon isotope excursion occurs below the Ediacaran Hankalchough glacial deposit in Tarim, confirming a post-Shuram glaciation. Leveraging paleomagnetic evidence for a ∼90° reorientation of all continents due to true polar wander, and a non-Snowball condition that rules out low-latitude glaciations, we use paleogeographic reconstructions to further constrain glacial ages. Our results depict a 'Great Ediacaran Glaciation' occurring diachronously but continuously from ca. 580-560 Ma as different continents migrated through polar-temperate latitudes. The succession of radiation, turnover and extinction of the Ediacara biota strongly reflects glacial-deglacial dynamics.

Carbonate diagenesis: A celebration of the work of John Anthony Dawson (Tony) Dickson

Carbonate diagenesis: A celebration of the work of John Anthony Dawson (Tony) Dickson

Constraining the diagenesis of the Puga cap carbonate from U–Pb in‐situ dating of seafloor crystal fans, southern Amazonian craton, Brazil

AbstractCap carbonates overlying Marinoan (635 Ma) glacial deposits worldwide record extreme paleoceanographic changes that may have triggered the rise of macroscopic life. However, the lack of geochronological constraints on these successions hinders reconciling climate and environmental change. Their upper part is marked by anomalous aragonite precipitation associated with large transgression and oxygenation of the post‐glacial ocean. Neomorphism of these deposits to low‐Mg calcite often includes centimetre‐scale seafloor crystal fans. We used in‐situ U–Pb dating and C and Sr isotopic analyses in the Puga cap carbonate to estimate the nature and timing of the neomorphism process. An age of 623 ± 3 [9] Ma (δ13C ~ −6‰ and 87Sr/87Sr ~ 0.7071–0.7075) for a blocky calcite cement is consistent with solution‐reprecipitation within the fans during final filling and diagenetic stabilization of the cap carbonate fabric. This result improves previous cap carbonate direct dating, providing a rare Lower Ediacaran chronostratigraphic reference.

Fresh keeping decision and coordination of fresh agricultural products supply chain under carbon cap-and-trade.

Considering the carbon emissions caused by the fresh-keeping of fresh agricultural products, this paper studied the rules of fresh-keeping decision-making in the two-echelon fresh agricultural product supply chain led by suppliers under the carbon cap-and-trade policy. In addition, we designed two contracts, cost-sharing contract and two-part pricing contract, to coordinate the supplier's fresh-keeping decision and the supply chain's revenue. The results show that: whether the carbon cap-and-trade policy is implemented or not, the higher the consumer's preference for freshness and the lower the price sensitivity coefficient of consumers, the more favorable it is for suppliers to improve their fresh-keeping efforts. Under the implementation of carbon cap-and-trade policy, suppliers' fresh-keeping efforts are only related to the carbon transaction price, not the carbon cap; the higher the carbon transaction price, the less the supplier's fresh-keeping efforts, but the more the supplier's income; the smaller the cost coefficient of carbon emission reduction and the larger the coefficient of carbon emission reduction, the more favorable it is for suppliers to increase their fresh-keeping efforts; both cost-sharing contract and two-part pricing contract can coordinate the supply chain of fresh agricultural products, but they have different application scope and coordination effect. These conclusions are of great significance to the operation and management of fresh agricultural products suppliers, the improvement of consumers' quality of life and the protection of ecological environment under carbon cap-and-trade.

Comprehensive Benefit Analysis of Port Shore Power Based on Carbon Trading

The concept of “oil to electricity” is crucial for expanding the share of electricity in final energy consumption as well as for encouraging energy efficiency and emission reduction. Initially, a multidimensional strategy analysis is conducted for the government, ports, and ships concerned. From an economics perspective, a mathematical model of electricity substitution benefit analysis based on multiagent cooperative game theory under cap and trade and carbon tax policies is constructed, and the effect of carbon emissions caused by ships on the environment and society is converted into economic value. How several variables, such as transformation costs, ship electricity consumption, subsidy rates, carbon tax prices, and the ratio of shore power usage time to berthing time, affect the functioning of shore power is analyzed. The best electricity price under various circumstances is determined while considering the benefits of the three parties to maximize social welfare. The reduction in carbon dioxide and pollutant emissions is calculated. Meanwhile, the environmental advantages of the “replacement of oil with electricity” procedure are estimated. An example supports the claim that the suggested modeling approach can successfully resolve the economic benefits of each participant for the period that fosters the growth of electricity replacement projects and offers a sound scientific foundation for the formation of pertinent legislation.

Production Inventory Optimization Considering Direct and Indirect Carbon Emissions under a Cap-and-Trade Regulation

Background: The latest global agreement on net-zero emissions encourages new studies on production inventory optimization that promote carbon emissions reduction without harming a company’s profit performance, particularly because certain carbon-pricing regulations bind manufacturing companies. Methods: This study aims to develop a production inventory model that considers direct and indirect emissions in three emission scopes. It incorporates emissions from production, material handling, transportation, and waste disposal for further treatment under a carbon cap-and-trade regulation. With the help of Maple software, a convex total cost function was solved. Results: The results show that the optimum production quantity depends on the values of demand, setup cost, holding cost, fixed cost per delivery, fixed cost for waste disposal, and other parameters related to carbon prices. This study also found that the total cost was highly dependent on the values of the carbon cap, carbon price, and delivery distance. Meanwhile, changes in the delivery distance and fuel emissions standard significantly impacted total emissions. Conclusions: The proposed model can guide manufacturing companies in setting the optimum production quantity per cycle. Moreover, they must carefully manage the delivery and setting of the carbon cap and carbon price from the government.

The effects of government subsidies and environmental regulation on remanufacturing

It has been recognized that regulatory policies are important to promote remanufacturing. However, scant studies have evaluated and compared the performance of different regulatory policies on remanufacturing operations. This paper analyzes the effects of the government subsidy policy and the carbon cap and trade policy (CTP) on remanufacturing in a closed-loop supply chain comprising a manufacturer, an independent remanufacturer (IR), and a retailer. We develop stylized models for evaluating three subsidy policies: the IR subsidy policy, the retailer subsidy policy, and the consumer subsidy policy, develop a stylized model for assessing CTP, and incorporate technology licensing for remanufacturing into our models for analyses. We examine two issues 1) subsidizing which stakeholder is optimal and 2) whether CTP is able to replace the government subsidy policy. We compare these policies from economic, environmental, and social perspectives concerning their value for remanufacturing in closing supply chain loop. The results show that both the subsidy policy and CTP are able to promote remanufacturing. The government subsidy, the cost savings per remanufactured product, and the carbon trading price are key factors that influence the promotion of remanufacturing. Although increasing those factors can stimulate remanufacturing activity, we find that increasing the cost savings, regardless of the production cost savings or the carbon emission cost savings, should be the first option for governments and manufacturers. Based on the results of stylized models, the three subsidy policies show same performance on promoting remanufacturing, and we interpret it as an insight that government policy makers need not to worry about choosing which stakeholder to subsidize. Technology licensing is unfavorable for remanufacturing development regardless of policy types, where a lower licensing fee or the coordination between the manufacturer and IR is necessary in the process. CTP performs better or on par with the subsidy policy in most cases, suggesting that CTP is an ideal substitution for the government subsidy policy.

Public opinion on climate change in China—Evidence from two national surveys

China’s ambitious initiatives to address climate change have attracted significant scholarly attention, yet much less focus was on how climate change is understood in Chinese society. This study analyzes the results from two surveys in 2009 and 2016 with nationally representative samples. The findings suggest that Chinese people have a fairly high awareness of the existence and anthropogenic causes of climate change. They consider climate change less urgent than air pollutions but more important than conservation. There is strong support for China to take leadership to address climate change. The respondents consider the government, especially the central government, as the entity most responsible for taking actions on climate change and generally approve its contributions. Policy measures such as carbon tax and cap and trade enjoy high support in China. Finally, the respondents also show a strong willingness to partake in individual actions.

The analyzing the role of electric vehicles in urban logistics: A case of China

In recent years, the rapid development of electric vehicles has gained widespread attention, and has especially brought new vitality to the fast-growing logistics service industry. Electric vehicles in urban logistics are not only ideal transportation tools but also do not affect the environment. This study thus implements the economic valuation of electric vehicles in urban logistics from the viewpoints of both manufacturers and business users through the investigation of pricing mechanism and discusses the potential for improving policy-making together with the real case in China. The net present value (NPV) approach is used to quantitatively analyze the investment decisions of urban logistics electric vehicles, with government regulation, incentive policy, and carbon emission trading taken into consideration. Our findings provide insights into the decision-making mechanism for commercializing electric vehicles in urban logistics that involves optimizing the government subsidy and transaction price between the manufacturers and business users. The results imply that with rationalized government policy incentives and coordinated transaction price, both manufacturers and business users are expected to achieve their break-even in limited time periods. The carbon cap placed on business users rather than manufacturers would be relatively more conducive to the marketization process.

Stochastic green profit-maximizing hub location problem

This article proposes a two-stage stochastic profit-maximizing hub location problem (HLP) with uncertain demand. Additionally, the model incorporates several carbon regulations, such as carbon tax policy (CTP), carbon cap-and-trade policy (CCTP), carbon cap policy (CCP), and carbon offset policy (COP). In the proposed models, an enhanced sample average approximation (ESAA) method was used to obtain a suitable number of scenarios. To cluster similar samples, k-means clustering and self-organizing map (SOM) clustering algorithms were embedded in the ESAA. The L-shaped algorithm was employed to solve the model inside the ESAA method more efficiently. The proposed models were analyzed using the well-known Australian Post (AP) data set. Computational experiments showed that all of the carbon regulations could reduce overall carbon emissions. Among carbon policies, CCTP could achieve better economic results for the transportation sector. The results also demonstrated that the SOM clustering algorithm within the ESAA method was superior to both k-means inside ESAA and classical SAA algorithms according to the %gap and standard deviation measures. In addition, the results showed that the L-shaped algorithm performed better than the commercial solver in large-scale instances.

Will the embedded service in supply chains play a role in lowering manufacturer’s carbon emission and maintaining economic growth?

Introduction: The carbon cap and trade mechanism (CCTM) is forcing companies to reduce carbon emissions. Due to financial and technical constraints, manufacturers responsible for recycling and remanufacturing begin to seek embedded services from energy service companies (ESCOs), marking the emergence of embedded low-carbon service supply chains. The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of embedded low-carbon service in supply chains in lowering manufacturer’s carbon emissions and maintaining economic growth.Methods: In this paper, a decision model for risk-averse closed-loop supply chain for embedded low-carbon service in uncertain markets is built by using the Stackelberg theory and mean-variance (MV) approach. Equilibrium decisions, the manufacturer’s expected utility growth, and total carbon emission reduction are obtained. Sensitivity analysis is performed for the main parameters.Results: The results indicate that only when the manufacturer’s risk aversion level and consumers’ low-carbon preference are within the range of 0.35–0.9, can the manufacturer bring in embedded low-carbon service by cooperating with an ESCO through revenue-sharing contracts. When there is a higher carbon price, embedded low-carbon service can further increase the manufacturer’s expected utility, maintain economic growth and reduce carbon emissions.Discussion: Embedded low-carbon service in supply chains can play a role in lowering manufacturers’ carbon emissions and maintaining economic growth when the manufacturer’s risk aversion level, carbon price, and consumers’ low-carbon preference are high. Theoretically, this study combines closed-loop supply chains (CLSCs) and embedded low-carbon services, enriching supply chain theories. In addition, the findings provide managerial insights for manufacturers, ESCOs, and governments.

Production and carbon emission abatement decisions under different carbon policies: supply chain network equilibrium models with consumers’ low‐carbon awareness

AbstractWith the increasing requirements for environmental protection, authorities have enacted different carbon policies to promote sustainable practices. This study considers the competition among different manufacturers and multiple demand markets in the supply chain network. We examine and compare their equilibrium decision conditions under three common carbon policies: carbon cap, carbon cap‐and‐trade, and carbon tax. Results suggest that under lower carbon caps, manufacturers greatly reduce their carbon emissions by reducing production quantities, which causes a decrease in profits. However, an appropriate carbon cap size can not only motivate manufacturers to reduce carbon emissions but also improve their profits. Under a certain price for carbon credit, the effectiveness of a carbon cap‐and‐trade policy is similar to that of a carbon cap policy, but it has more flexibility. Carbon tax is effective, but it brings more tax burden to manufacturers. We provide implications for companies to optimize their production methods to achieve sustainability.